Three
by penny4him
Summary: Taern tries to take care of Serenade when she is sick, but Sere keeps thinking of all the work she has to do.  Fluffy!


Disclaimer: Toril, Faerun, and the recognizable characters therein are copyright by Wizards of the Coast.

Serenade and the others are copyright by the illustrious Bluephoenix21, who very graciously allowed me to borrow them! She has some EXCELLENT stories coming soon! ...This story is for Blue.

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><p><strong>Three<strong>

Sere pouted as Taern tucked the blanket up beneath her chin and drew the blinds shut. "This really isn't necessary," she complained, not even trying to keep the whiny tone out of her voice.

"I disagree," Taern stated. He tucked a second pillow behind Serenade's head and made sure her water glass was within easy reach. "You have quite a fever, you know."

Sere made a rude face. "Just a little fever. I have lots to do! I can't lie about in bed all afternoon."

"Yes," Taern corrected. "You can. And you will." Sere wasn't sure she liked his definitive tone of voice.

"The children need me-"

"Liz can take care of them just fine." Taern planted a kiss on her warm forehead and headed for the door. He pretended not to hear Serenade's exasperated sigh.

Sere stayed in bed long enough to hear Taern's footsteps descending the stairs and the soft squeak of the front door quietly opening and shutting. Taern meant well, surely, but she really had too much to do to just stay in bed. She'd make herself some tea and then continue with her work.

Pushing back the covers, the bard stepped out of bed and quickly dressed. She ran her fingers through her disheveled hair and tried to ignore the ache in all of her joints. Crossing to the door, Sere opened it quietly and stepped into the hall. She stifled a scream as she encountered Taern sitting against the wall across from her door.

"Going somewhere?" the mage asked with quirked eyebrow.

"You startled me! I thought you'd gone! I'm, um...I just need to go to the privy..."

"Right. I can tell when you're lying you know." His tone was matter-of-fact.

Sere blushed slightly, but hoped her fever would cover it. She tried to formulate a response, but it wasn't so easy, feeling the way she did.

"That's one," Taern said, rising to his feet and ushering her back into her room.

"One what?"

He smiled wryly. "Back to bed with you. And don't worry about the work getting done. It will."

"I...um...alright," she managed weakly. Curse this stupid fever, dulling her wits!

Taern tucked the blankets around her again and Sere smiled disarmingly. "Thanks, love."

He smiled in answer and left the room again.

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><p>This time Sere lounged in bed for nearly a quarter hour. She wondered if Taern had cast some spell to make it sound like he'd left, or if he actually left and then somehow came back extremely quickly and quietly. She wondered how Jaraim and the others were getting along. She wondered if Shay needed help with his homework. Sere turned on her side and closed her eyes, but sleep was too elusive with all of these thoughts. Well, at least she had rested a bit.<p>

Getting up again, she crept silently to the door and knelt in front of the keyhole. The hallway was empty as far as she could tell. Probably Taern had really left this time. After all, he had meetings to attend and duties to perform, not the least of which was training with the Spellguard. Sere opened the door slowly and was relieved to find herself alone in the hallway. She headed downstairs, leaning heavily on the wooden banister.

Serenade wrinkled her nose. Did she smell smoke? Something was burning! Crossing quickly to the kitchen, she noticed a big pot of stew bubbling over into the hearth. Where was everyone? Mostly playing outside from the sound of things. Sere grabbed a poker and quickly began jabbing at the coals, cooling the fire down.

The kitchen door creaked open behind her and Liz entered, her arms full of towels and sheets. "Oh, Mistress Sere! Lemme do that! You oughtta be in bed," the woman chided. "I jest go out for a minute and whadda you know?" Agitated, Liz dropped the laundry on the countertop and grabbed the poker.

"It's alright Liz," Sere soothed. Absentmindedly she moved to the pile of clean laundry and began folding it. The kitchen door opened again, and Sere turned, expecting to see one of the children coming in for something. Instead her eyes met Taern's piercing blue ones, and the bard shivered involuntarily at the stern expression on his face.

"What did I tell you?" Taern asked pleasantly, and somehow his smile worried Sere more than the stern expression had.

"To rest. And I did," she replied hastily.

"For all of what, a quarter-hour?"

"It was long enough."

"I don't think it was." Taern took her by the arm and steered her away from the laundry, out of the kitchen, and back up the stairs.

"This really isn't necessary," Sere complained again, repeating her earlier words in hopes that repetition would somehow convince her lover.

"If it weren't necessary, I wouldn't be doing it. And that's two."

"Two _what_?" Sere complained. "You never answered the first time."

"It's two, and you do _not_ want to get to three," Taern stated. By this time they were at Sere's bedroom door again. The mage opened the door and held it for her. "Now go in, lie down, and rest."

"Fine." She shut the door in his face.

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><p>Sere crawled into bed fully clothed and sighed, willing the dull ache behind her eyes to go away. She watched a spider crossing a beam and repairing its broken web. She counted the planks of wood that comprised the walls of her room. She drank her water. Finally Sere got out of bed again and changed into her nightclothes. Maybe she could fall asleep if she were more comfortable.<p>

After what seemed an eternity she sat up again and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Her body was tired but her mind wouldn't rest. She had several letters that she needed to write to local guilds, mostly requesting things for the orphanage. She'd put off writing them for far too long. This was a good opportunity. Sere went over to her writing desk and pulled out several sheets of fresh parchment. She sharpened a goose quill and dipped it into the ink well, frowning as she concentrated. _"Respected council_," she began, "_It is with great respect for your vision and deeds that I begin this missive..._"

Finally the letter to the first guild was composed, and Sere scattered dry sand from a small clay pot over the still-wet page, drying the excess ink. She shook it off carefully, folded it, and sealed it with some candle wax. With a sigh, Sere reached for the next sheet of blank parchment. She nibbled the end of her quill pensively, wishing she didn't feel so chilly and achey. She was halfway through the next note when a gust of air stirred her pages. Sere looked up, ink-smudged, to see her door open quietly. Taern peered around the corner and frowned.

"Serenade, I'm disappointed." He shook his head slightly. "And that's three."

Sere frowned too. "I tried resting, really, I did. I just can't sleep. Too much going on. And what's with all the counting, for goodness' sake?"

"I told you you didn't want to get to three."

Sere rolled her eyes. "Three, five, what does it matter?"

"It means I will no longer be so nice."

"Oh, so you think that before when you were ordering me around you were being nice?"

"I was. And I'm sorry that you can't recognize it when someone is acting in your best interest."

"My best interest...I'm not a child!"

"Indeed you are not. But I have half a mind to take you over my knee."

Sere opened her mouth and closed it again, not sure how to respond to _that_. Before she knew it, Taern had crossed the room and scooped her up as if she weighed nothing. He carried her over to the bed, yanked the covers back with one hand, and deposited her unceremoniously atop the straw-filled mattress. Then he reached into a pocket of his robe and pulled out a small stoppered bottle. "You will drink this."

Sere narrowed her eyes. "What is it?"

"A sleeping draught."

"You just don't give up, do you?"

"No," he stated firmly. "I don't." He thrust the bottle into her hand. "Drink up."

Sere pulled out the stopper and sniffed suspiciously. "Smells like swamp water." She shoved the stopper back in the top. "No thank you."

Taern sat down on the bed, pinning Sere's legs beneath him. He leaned in close enough that she could feel the heat of his breath in her ear. "You will either drink it of your own free will," he began softly, "or _not_ of your own free will...but be sure of this - you most certainly _shall_ drink it."

She drank it. "You can be a real pain in the ass, you know that Taern?" Sere asked, then she promptly fell fast asleep.

Taern rose from the bed and tucked the blankets around her shoulders carefully. "I love you too, Serenade," he answered the sleeping woman.

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><p>Complete. Reviews welcome!<p> 


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